Since then the park had had its ups and downs, as I described in The Trouble With Lions, but it still a beautiful place to visit. This year we were not disappointed and saw more of the graceful, shy, lesser kudu than we have ever seen before. They are a miniature version of the greater kudu that is the emblem of the South African National Parks system, and also occurs in Kenya.
The first of these two photos shows a greater kudu bull at Borana, a private ranch with a beautiful up-market lodge. 
We saw the bull in the second photo in Meru just a couple of days ago 
and this is a female just about to disappear into some bushes. 
We also saw a lesser kudu calf alongside a reticulated giraffe as they watched us from across the Bwatherongi river.
Meru NP also has a wide variety of bird species, among the most spectacular of which are rollers,
both European (this one twisting his neck to look up) and lilac-breasted. Yellow-necked spur-fowl are abundant, but one does not see them much after 8.00 am or before 6.00 pm when they emerge from the grass to gather gravel on the roads. I tried to get a pic on this blog,but my connection had a brain fart, so I'm using a friend's computer. I'll get one up later.
